Cameron Brown

The medal session on the opening night of the 2019 CARIFTA Championships at the Aquatic session in Barbados yielded a treasure trove of medals for Team Jamaica. The highlight of the session was yet another record breaking performance by Sabrina Lyn in the 13-14 girls 100 metre butterfly.

Sabrina Lyn ,Jamaica fastest ever junior swimmer in the 100 metre butterfly powering her way to Gold in a new PB,NAGR,CR and PAN AM B time of 1:03.19
Photo courtesy of Harold Wilson

Lyn entered the final with a new personal best as well as the national age group record and Championship record of 1:03.47. Added to those accolades was the fact that she had also become Jamaica’s fastest ever junior swimmer in the record with her morning swim. In the final when the gun sounded the battle was close with the field . After the turn Lyn proved why she is the best female junior swimmer Jamaica has ever produced in the event when she pulled away for an emphatic win. The scoreboard bore that out when it revealed yet another personal best, national age group record, Championship record and PAN AM B qualifying mark of 1:03.19.Lyn , who is Jamaica’s fastest ever female swimmer in the event at CARIFTA was joined on the podium by teammate Zaneta Alvaranga .Zaneta powered her way to the Silver in 1:05.07. This is the second consecutive year Jamaica is dominating the podium. In 2018 Emily MacDonald and Alvaranga provided the one two punch atop the podium in front of their home crowd in Kingston.Lyn’s junior regional Gold medal count in the event now stands at four

2017 CARIFTA 11-12 1:07.49

2017 CCCAN 11-12 1:05.69

2018 CCCAN 13-14 1:03.82

Nathaniel Thomas double gold medallist in the 50 metre backstroke and 100 metre butterfly in the 13-14 age group
Photo courtesy of Mike Critchlow

Also in fantastic form in the 13-14 age group was her teammate Nathaniel Thomas.He broke the 28 seconds barrier to take the 50 metre backstroke Gold in a time of 27.82. This is a huge improvement for Thomas who was sixth last year in 30.12. The last time Jamaica was on top of the podium was 2011 when Olympian Timothy Wynter took Gold in 27.76. The Gold rush would not stop there as he would also take the 100 metre butterfly in a time of 59.22.The last time Jamaica featured in the podium party was 2015 when Jesse Marsh took the Bronze in 59.80.It was another big jump in performance as he finished fourth in 2018 in 1:01.53.

Emily MacDonald went from becoming the 13-14 100 metre butterfly champion in 2018 to lifting the 15-17 crown 12 months later.Emily continued the Gold medal hot streak Team Jamaica winning three consecutive races as the nation had just captured titles in the 13-14 age group.She stopped the clock in 1:05.85. This put Team Jamaica back among the medals after last being on the podium in 2016 when Kelsie Campbell won Gold in 1:04.99.

Brianna Anderson lowered her own 15-17 national record of 30.44 to 30.22 to claim Silver in the Championship final. Jamaica’s fastest ever junior sprint backstroker improved upon her 2018 position where she claimed the Bronze in a time of 31.01.

In the 13-14 age group Zaneta Alvaranga shattered her personal best of 32.49 to win the Bronze in a time of 31.77. With that swim she has put the national record of 31.02 set by Angara Sinclair on notice. She emulates Anderson’s 2017 performance when she had stopped the clock in 31.59.

In the 11-12 age group Giani Francis also issued a national record threat when she won Silver in a personal best time of 32.68. The national record stands at 32.08 set by Kendese Nangle in 2007.

Leanna Wainwright
Photo courtesy of Mike Critchlow

Jamaica dominated the podium as Leanna Wainwright at her first CARIFTA Championships which serves as her international debut and making her first ever Championship final produced the goods to win Bronze in a new personal best of 33.28.This speaks volumes of the great work being done in swimming at the western end of the island.

Francis would also take the Silver in the 100 metre butterfly with a personal best effort of 1:10.17.That ended a two year medal drought in the event for Jamaica. Teammate Brady MacPherson Lewison also earned a medal in the event in that age group .He took the Bronze in a time of 1:07.49.

Kokolo Foster on the podium after winning Silver in the 200 metre breaststroke
Photo courtesy of Mike Critchlow

The session started on a good note when Kokolo Foster dropped almost three seconds to win the Silver in the 11-12 200 metre breaststroke event in a time of 2:53.61.

In the distance events Britney Williams placed fifth overall 15-17 girls 800 metre freestyle after being the fastest in the morning heats with her time of 9:39.41. Teammate Naomi Eaton placed 11th overall with her morning effort of 10:02.80.Daniel Mair placed seventh overall after he swam 18:34.56 in the morning heats of the 13-14 boys 1500 metre freestyle , a new personal best

The 13-14 girls team of Safiya Officer 1:03.56, Raine Hopkins 1:04.70,Morgan Cogle 1:01.26 and a fantastic anchor by Sabrina Lyn in 58.32 won Silver in the 400 metre freestyle relay in 4:07.84.

The 13-14 boys team of Daniel Mair 57.17 ,Zachary Jackson Blaine 58.75,Jaedon Lynch 58.87 and Nathaniel Thomas 56.16 also won Silver in 3:50.95.

The 15-17 boys team of Nicholas Vale 55.07,Jordane Payne 56.68,Cameron Brown 55.47 and Kyle Sinclair claimed the Bronze in 3:40.66

The final day of competition at the CCCAN swimming Championships in Aruba on July 2 saw Team Jamaica adding Two Gold, Three Silver and Three Bronze medals.

13-14 50 metre freestyle medallists from left to right Watson-Brown ,MacDonald and Farro Photo courtesy of Harold Wilson

The highlight of the day was Emily MacDonald who completed the freestyle sprint double .A day after she completed the record regional Golden Double (CARIFTA and CCCAN titles) in the 100 metre freestyle she did the same in the 50 metre freestyle. She took the race in a time of 26.48 a new PB, CCCAN and CARIFTA all time best.It was a mere .03 of a second outside of the automatic Youth Olympic qualifying mark of 26.45.

This makes her unbeaten for the 13-14 age group at CCCAN as she took the title in Trinidad and Tobago as well last year in 27.20. In April of this year in her hometown of Kingston she won the splash and dash in a time of 26.76 lowering the record of 26.81 held by Bermudan Madelyn Moore. In Aruba she would take down another Moore standard of 26.65 , the unofficial all time regional record. Emily has been Golden in all but one meet at the regional level since 2016.

GOLDEN RUN

Date

Meet

Medal

Time

March 2016

CARIFTA

Gold

28.15

July 2016

CISC

Gold

27.64

April 2017

CARIFTA

4th

27.60

July 2017

CCCAN

Gold

27.20

April 2018

CARIFTA

Gold

26.76 Record26.81

July 2018

CCCAN

Gold

26.48 record 26.65

Chinyere Pigot Photo courtesy of thrillson.blogspot.com

MacDonald had the second fastest time of the competition. That accolade went to none other than Madelyn Moore who lowered the 15-17 meet of 26.13 by Suriname’s Olympian Chinyere Pigot (Beijing 2008 and London 2012) when she stopped the clock in 25.97.

Silver went to Bermuda’s Logan Watson -Brown in 27.24 and the Bronze to Aruba Chloe Farro 27.67.

When draftingthecaribbean spoke to Emily she gave her thoughts on her performances

“I’m very happy about winning events in the meet for my age group and breaking Championship record for both events .It gives me the assurance that I have the potential to be a great sprinter”.

13-14 400 metre medley relay medallists from left to right Colombia,Jamaica and Aruba Photo courtesy of Harold Wilson

There would almost be another regional record Golden Double in the 400 metre medley relay as the team of Simone Vale, Sabrina Lyn, MacDonald and Amore Hunter just missed the CCCAN record of 4:34.23 held by the 2005 Mexico team and their own national age group record of 4:33.81 when they won Gold in 4:34.48.Silver went to Colombia in 4:38.89 and Bronze to Aruba in 4:52.40.

13-14 CCCAN Gold medallists from left to right Hunter,MacDonald, Lyn and Vale Photo courtesy of Harold Wilson

Names

CARIFTA Record

Names

CCCAN 2005

Names

CCCAN 2018

backstroke Vale

1:09.46

backstroke Gonzalez

1:08.21

backstroke Vale

1:10.15

breastroke Lyn

1:21.13

breastroke Delgado

1:19.31

breastroke Lyn

1:18.26

butterfly Zaneta Alvaranga

1:04.54

butterfly Medrano

1:06.18

butterfly MacDonald

1:04.46

freestyle MacDonald

58.68

freestyle Barjas

1:00.53

freestyle Hunter

1:01.61

4:33.81

4:34.28

4:34.48

Girls 11-12 200 metre backstroke from left to right Crooks, Jimenez Garrido and Cogle Photo courtesy of Harold Wilson

There would be another national record for Morgan Cogle in the 11-12 200 metre backstroke.She lowered the 2007 Kendese Nangle record of 2:36.00 set at CCCAN 2007 in El Salvador in the morning heats with a time of 2:35.21. She would go on to win Bronze in the final in 2:35.29. Jillian Crooks of the Cayman Islands took the Silver in 2:33.98 with Gold going to Elizabeth Jimenez Garrido of the Dominican Republic in 2:33.23.

In the 400 medley relay Cogle backstroke ,Brooke Hopkins breaststroke ,Ireland Hunter butterfly and Safiya Officer won the Silver in a new national age group record of 4:56.06. That bettered the old 2007 record of 4:58.67 set in by the 2007 CARIFTA team Brittany Kenney, Kendese Nangle, Raynae Hall and Alexia Royal-Eatmon.

COMPARISON OF TIMES

Names

CCCAN 2018

Names

CARIFTA 2007

backstroke Cogle

1:12.37

backstroke Kenney

1:16.37

breaststroke Hopkins

1:24.50

breaststroke Nangle

1:23.96

butterfly Hunter

1:15.97

butterfly Hall

1:12.08

freestyle Officer

1:03.22

freestyle Royal-Eatmon

1:06.26

4:56.06

4:58.67

Girls 11-12 400 metre medley relay medallists from left to right Jamaica ,Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados Photo courtesy of Harold Wilson

Gold went to Trinidad and Tobago in 4:51.10 and the Bronze to Barbados in 5:06.93.

Girls 15-17 50 metre freestyle medallists from left to right Banks,Moore and Russell Photo courtesy of Harold Wilson

In the 15-17 Girls 50 metre freestyle it was Gabrianna Banks getting the medal for Team Jamaica . She stopped the clock in a new PB of 26.69 for the Silver. The performance marks consecutive Silver medals for Banks who won Silver in her last year of 13-14 in the twin island republic last year in 27.28. The Bronze went to Victoria Russell of The Bahamas in a new PB of 26.93. This is the first medal for Jamaica in 2017 since Breanna Roman won Bronze in 27.59 at CCCAN 2011 in Puerto Rico.

Boys 13-14 50 metre freestyle medallists from left to right Williams, Taylor and Thomas Photo courtesy of Harold Wilson

There would be a Bronze for Nathaniel Thomas in the 13-14 age group in the 50 metre freestyle as his effort was timed in a PB of 25.33. This is a step up from his performance at CARIFTA where he placed ninth in 26.19. Silver went to Malik Nelson of Trinidad and Tobago in 24.50. Gold went to the fastest 13-14 swimmer of the season Lamar Taylor of The Bahamas who won in a new CCCAN record of 23.94 to add to his CARIFTA title which he won in 24.27 and as well as National title in 23.79.

There would be Bronze for Safiya Officer in the girls 11-12 race she touched in 27.71.Silver went to St Lucia’s Naima Hazell in 27.61 .

Cerian Gibbes competing in the 100 metre breaststroke at the 1996 Olympics Photo courtesy of gettyimages

The Gold went to the Cayman Islands Jillian Crooks who lowered the 1995 meet standard of 27.55 set by Trinidad and Tobago’s Olympian Cerian Gibbes who went to the Atlanta 1996 Games as a 13 year old.

Boys 11-12 400 metre medley relay medallists from left to right Jamaica,Trinidad and Tobago and Aruba Photo courtesy of Harold Wilson

The 11-12 boys 400 metre medley relay team won Silver . The team of Daniel Mair (backstroke) 1:16.61,brother Joshua (breaststroke)1:20.15 ,Jaedon Lynch( butterfly) ( 1:10.15) and Adrian Balfour (freestyle) 1:01.55 touched in 4:48.55 to finish behind the Trinidad and Tobago team that won in 4:41.05.the Bronze was won by Aruba in 4:53.76.

Boys 15-17 400 metre medley relay medallists from left to right Trinidad and Tobago,The Bahamas and Jamaica Photo courtesy of Harold Wilson

The 15-17 boys won the Bronze in their medley relay. The team of Nicholas Vale (backstroke) 1:01.47 ,Sean-Douglas Gooden (breaststroke) 1:09.48 ,Jesse Marsh (butterfly) 56.91 and Cameron Brown (freestyle) 55.86 touched in 4:03.72. Gold was won by The Bahamas in 3:59.57 and the Silver to Trinidad and Tobago in 4:01.63.

Day Four of the CCCAN Swimming championships saw Team Jamaica adding Four more medals to their tally One Gold , One Silver and Two Silver to have Eighteen medals Six Gold ,Four Silver and Eight Bronze medals.

Getting the Gold for the land of wood and water was Emily MacDonald in the girls 13-14 100 metre freestyle. She bounced back from illness on Day Three to win the freestyle title.

In the Championship final she recorded the only sub 28 seconds split at the halfway mark and then pulled away from the field to record a new personal best and CCCAN meet record of 57.95. It was also the fastest 100 metre freestyle time recorded by a girl at the Championship.

Claudia Poll Photo courtesy of panamericanworld

That lowered the the more than three decades old standard of 58.34 byCosta Rican Olympic Gold medallist Claudia Poll (1996,2000 and 2004). MacDonald also is closing in on the national age group record of 57.54 held by Olympian Janelle Atkinson (2000,2004). It was Poll who held off Atkinson to win the Bronze in the 400 metre freestyle at the 2000 Sydney Games . That fourth place position at the Olympics is the joint highest placing at the Games along with Alia Atkinson’s fourth place at the 2012 London Games.

Winning the Silver was Bermuda’s Logan Watson-Brown in 58.82 and the Bronze to Colombia’s Manuela Libreros Bolivar 1:01.38.

It also marked the regional Golden Double as she captured the same title at the CARIFTA Games in her hometown of Kingston in April . It marked the second time she is completing the double after doing so in the 11-12 age group in 2016

Regional record for the 100 metre freestyle

Date

Meet

Medal

Time

March 2016

CARIFTA

Gold

1:02.02 split 29.40

July 2016

CISC

Gold

1:00.26 split 29.18

April 2017

CARIFTA

Silver

59.28 split 28.33

July 2017

CCCAN

Gold

58.83 split 27.89

April 2018

CARIFTA

Gold

57.99 split 28.17

July 2018

CCCAN

Gold

57.95 split 27.79

Emily spoke to draftingthecaribbean about her performance after the race

“Going the 100 I was a bit nervous at first. The meet has not been great so far .In my 200 metre freestyle I got a cramp in my leg and ended up doing a bad time as I added 5 seconds to my personal best and I did not swim the Championship final of the 50 metre butterfly because of that injury and the 100 metre butterfly was not a good race overall.so going into this race I was very nervous as I did not know how I was going to perform because I had not done well so far but I was just going to try my best. That was my mindset heading into the final.I told myself I prepared for this meet and I have trained so hard for this and it does not make sense not swim my heart out. Going into the heats said I am going to just try and hopefully come in the top 8 fand hopefully seed first for the final. That is what I did and ended up doing a 58.70 .Going into the final I was going up again Logan Watson-Brown from Bermuda who I know is a great swimmer and I was even more nervous.I knew I wanted to get a Gold medal but was still not sure because of how I was performing. Before I stepped on the blocks I knew I had done all that I can to get this far and I know that I have done all I could possibly do to achieve a best time in this race so I was going to do what my coach told me to do which was best time.As I swam the race I remembered doing the splits in training and swimming the first 50 in a particular time and pushing hard on the last 25 metres into the wall which I did and recorded a personal best which I am very happy about and I got the Gold medal that I wanted”.

15-17 50 metre breaststroke medal podium from left to right Brown,Cheong and Russell Photo courtesy of CCCAN

In the Boys 15-17 50 metre breaststroke Cameron Brown ended a decade old medal drought for Team Jamaica when he secured the Silver in a new personal best of 30.23. He tied Brandon Cheong for the medal while the Gold was won by The Bahamas Tyler Russell in 30.16. The last time Jamaica got a medal in the 15-17 age group in this event was in 2007 in El Salvador when age group star Brad Hamilton won Silver in 30.59.

Cameron gave his thoughts to draftingthecaribbean about the swim

“I knew it was going to be straight line line heading to the wall.I pushed to the very last second.I was suprised to see a new PB of 30.23 when I looked at the scoreboard”.

11-12 dynamo Morgan Cogle secured more precious metal at the Championship .She lowered her 100 metre freestyle from 1:03.11 to 1:02.59 to secure Bronze.The title went to Jillian Crooks of the Cayman Islands in a time of 1:01.72 and the Silver to Gabrielle Vickles of Trinidad and Tobago in 1:02.33.

11-12 200 IM medallists from left to right Crooks, Anthony and Cogle Photo courtesy of CCCAN

In the 200 metre individual medley she ended a more than decade old drought when she won Bronze in 2:37.44.That medal winning swim puts her within sight of the age group record of 2:36.26 set by Annabella Lyn in 2012. Gold was won by the another 11-12 standout Zoe Anthony of Trinidad and Tobago in 2:32.91 and Silver to Crooks in 2:36.70.

Bronze was won by the 15-17 800 metre freestyle relay team of Annabella Lyn ,Gabrianna Banks, Bryanna Renuart and Naomi Eaton who stopped the clock in 9:07.22. Gold went to Aruba in 8:48.55 and the Silver to Honduras in 8:59.65.

The Jamaican duo of Simone Vale and Cameron Brown were among the youngest swimmers at the prestigious Florida 1A State championships held on Saturday November 4. Despite their relative youth they still recorded personal bests at a high quality meet held at the Sailfish Splashpark Aquatic Athletics Center in Stuart Florida.

Brown, who represented Sagemont, earned a second swim at his first outing at the 1A Champs in an individual event. He lowered his 100 yard breaststroke personal best of 1:00.21 (split time 28.67) set at the Regional Championships when he clocked 59.73 (split time 28.10). That performance earned him a place in the B final. In that race he was on track to record another personal best as he went out in 28.07. He would fall just short when he touched in 1:00.08, the 2nd fastest time of his career to place 7th overall. It is the best result for Sagemont since 2011 when Aruban Jordy Groters made the Championship final. In his final year of the 13-14 age group Brown has lowered the national 100 metre breaststroke record four times so far.

In the 200 yard medley relay Brown produced freestyle splits of 22.57 and 22.31 to help to times of 1:42.79 and 1:42.32 to help Sagemont make the B final and place 4th in that race.

Simone Vale Photo courtesy of Mike C Lyn

Simone, who made her Championship debut clocked a personal best of 1:00.56 (split time 28.96) in the 100 yard backstroke. That time placed the Pine Crest student 21st overall . Her previous personal standard was 1:00.62 set at the Regional championship on October 27.Simone was member of the 2017 CARIFTA 13-14 200 and 400 metre freestyle relay teams that swept their way to Gold in The Bahamas earlier this year.

The battle for 100 yard breaststroke 1A State Championship title will see the CARIFTA region represented by three territories The Bahamas with Izaak Bastian swimming for Saint Andrews, Jamaica with duo of Cameron Brown and Adrian Grant turning out for Sagemont and The Bolles School respectively and Trinidad and Tobago’s Christopher Dieffenthaller suiting up for Berkley.

Bastian Photo courtesy of Michael Lyn

Yet again the at the 1A Championships to held today the top seed going into the morning heats will be a swimmer from the CARIFTA region as Izaak Bastian holds down the top spot with a seed time of 56.43. The FSU commit will be the man to beat tomorrow given the successes of the past season. At the CARIFTA level he extended his unbeaten streak in the 100 metre breaststroke with a winning time of 1:04.68, winning a historic Silver medal for his country at the Commonwealth Youth Games in a personal best time of 1:03.71 and recording the time by a Bahamian man at the World Junior championships with a time of 1:04.67. His build up to his last high school championships has been good with record breaking swim at the Palm Beach county championships where he smashed his 2016 meet record of 57.55 and the county record of 56.87 set by one of his coaches Quinn Cassidy with a 56.27 performance. He would follow up with wins at the district and Regional Champs

Date

Meet

Time

Oct 7

Palm Beach County Champs

56.27

Oct 20

1 A District Champs

57.73

Oct 27

1A Region 4 Champs

56.43

Izaak will be seeking to end his career with a win in the event following two 3rd place finishes previously

Cameron Brown who is a Sagemont recruit will be competing in his first Championship meet. Brown is the 8th seed with a time of 1:00.21 He owns the Jamaican national long course record for 13-14 boys setting it this past summer with a time of 1:09.48 . That record swim represented the 4th time he set the record in the 13-14 age group. He has been getting faster with each competition and will be looking to go well beyond the minute mark today.

Date

Meet

Time

Placing

Oct 20

1 A District 10 Champs

1:00.67

2nd

Oct 27

1A Region 4 Champs

1:00.21

5th

Christopher Dieffenthaller Photo courtesy of swimtt.com

Dieffenthaller is the reigning 13-14 CCCAN 100 metre breaststroke champion He earned that title when he won that event at home in the twin island republic in a time of 1:09.10.Christopher will enter the water today as the number 15 seed with a time of 1:00.82. He seems set to better his 3rd place showing in the B final last year. Christopher will be looking to go under the 59 seconds barrier after posting 59.43 in the heats of last year’s champs.

Date

Meet

Time

Placing

Oct 21

1A District 7

1:01.85

3rd

Oct 28

1A Region 3

1:00.82

3rd

Adrian Grant CARIFTA 2017 Photo courtesy of Michael C Lyn

Adrian Grant of Bolles will be making his debut at the Championships like his Jamaican countryman Brown. Grant was a member of the 2017 CARIFTA team and posted a time of 1:10.41 for 10th overall. A swimmer poised for big time drops in his first year of training in the States as evidenced by his swims at the District and Regional Championships

Date

Meet

Time

Placing

Oct 17

1A District 2

1:03.75

4th

Oct 26

1A District 1

1:01.44

6th

Today the quartet will look to add their name to the list of the regional standouts who have claimed Florida High School State Championships

Jamaica’s Cameron Brown continued his excellent form in the breaststroke events by lowering the 13-14 100 metre breaststroke for the fourth time at the Florida Gold Senior Championships in Coral Springs Florida. His previous records were established at the 2016 CISC (Caribbean Islands Swimming Championships) in July, the Gulliver Invitational in January and the SPEEDO sectionals in March .Competing in the heats of the event of the event he lowered the record from 1:09.66 to 1:09.48. In the final of the event he would be just off that time but still under the old record as he placed 5th in a time of 1:09.60.

Draftingthecaribbean spoke to Cameron after his record breaking swim on July 30 and got his insight about the race and the competition overall

“In my 50 metre breaststroke I came within .10 of the 13-14 age group National record (31.05 by Brad Hamilton), I was also 2 seconds shy of the 200 metre Breaststroke record (2:33.55). Feeling a little disappointed I knew I had an opportunity to touch the record again in my pet event, 100 metre breaststroke. My first 50 was the fastest of the field at 32.05, my turn was good but I would’ve been happier if my 2nd 50 was faster. It was a 37.43. I ended up with the new record”.

After becoming the first Jamaican woman to swim the 100 metre butterfly in under a minute on July 7 Olympian Alia Atkinson (2004, 2008, 2012,2016) decided to break the 100 metre freestyle record as well for good measure. Competing on the opening day of the Florida Gold Coast Senior Championships in Coral Springs today July 28 she became the first Jamaican woman to break the 56 seconds mark.

In the open women’s final ,Alia representing South Florida Aquatics, broke away from the field with the only split under 26.50 with a time of 26.48.She was also fastest coming home with a final 50 metres of 28.87 , the only sub 29 seconds time of the final . She clocked in a new personal best and national record of 55.35. Alia has gained more speed at both the start of the race and the back end compared to her record swim at the 2015 Arena Pro Swim Series Orlando

Analysis of Alia’s record swims

Date

First 50 metres

Second 50 metres

Final time

Orlando Feb 2015

27.11

28.95

56.06

Coral Springs July 2017

26.48

28.11

55.35

Second was Kyla Valls of Miami Swimming 56.33. Third went Victoria Fonville of Westminster Academy in 57.52.

Alia Atkinson with Jamaican swimmers in Florida front row from let right Cheser Adams and Naomi Eaton back row from left to right Chester Adams Jr, Alia , Cameron Brown and Jordane Payne Photo courtesy of Nicole Parker

In her speciality Atkinson clocked a season best of 30.54 for a win by over 2 seconds. That time places her as the 8th fastest woman in the world in the event. Ironically that event will be swum at the World Long course (50 metre ) Championship (which she decided to by pass this time around )will be swum tomorrow.

Alia Atkinson and Cameron Brown Photo courtesy of Nicole Parker

There was a national record scare for the 13-14 boy’s 50 metre breaststroke as Cameron Brown representing Azura Aquatics clocked 31.15 for the Silver in his race .That was just off the national record of 31.05 set by Brad Hamilton at the 2004 Caribbean Islands Swimming Championships held in Jamaica.

Alia on her way to 50 metre Gold in Berlin Photo courtesy of FINA

Atkinson will be in excellent form as she seeks more international glory for Jamaica and the CARIFTA and CCCAN regions as she will take part in the first leg of the European cluster of the FINA/airweave Swimming World Cup Series in Moscow on August 2.Those series of meets are contested in